We're on the top of the world, you and I

Well my little adventure easily because one of the best trips I've been on in my entire life. I guess I will go into slightly more detail.

Late Thursday night Lucas and I traveled to Tokyo station to catch our overnight bus to Kyoto. The bus was really nice and had curtains. However, just because it was nice did not mean that we would be able to sleep. After numerous attempts and bathroom breaks, I think we probably ended up sleeping about 2 hours give or take of the 6 hour ride. 6:00 am came and we arrived at Kyoto station. We went to McDonalds and I got a delicious mcgriddle.

With map in hand, we made our way to the bus station to get to Gion, the part of Kyoto that our hostel was in. Gion is known as the Geisha town, which I will get into further later. Everything was desolate. I guess Kyoto doesn't wake up very early. Our hostel was easily found and was located right on the river in the heart of all of the excitement. The office didn't open until 10:00, but I was given the combination to open the door, thankfully. We were able to semi hide our bags in the common lounge, change our clothes, brush our teeth and sit for like 5 minutes. We decided to explore Gion until the office opened. We wandered the empty streets with unknown stores. Everything was closed and mysterious. We walked along the river and saw the old fishermen. By the time we circled around the town, it was 10:00 so we went to "officially" drop our bags off at the hostel, however, we still couldn't check in.

After the brief stop at the hostel, we were on our way to the first temple: Sanjusangen-do Temple, meaning 1001 Buddhas. Well let me tell you...they weren't lying about that one. There really were 1001 Buddhas and it was spectacular. They were all in lines and rows surrounding one large Buddha. It was amazing. The grounds of the temple were beautiful. A group of Japanese school girls came up to us wanting to take a picture with us. We couldn't say no. After that we headed to Kiyomizudera Temple, the Water Temple. On our walk there, we passed a school bus full of elementary school aged Japanese kids. The were all plastered to the windows and waving profusely to us. I don't know if it's because we are foreign or if it's because Lucas looks like a model/rock star/famous, but we got quite a lot of attention over the weekend. It was wonderful.

Kiyomizudera was absolutely breathtaking. We had to hike up a mountain, but unlike in Hakone, this one definitely paid off. We had the most spectacular view of Kyoto. We could see for miles as we were standing up in the mountains, surrounded by mountains and city and gorgeousness. The temples themselves were fabulous. As we hiked down the mountain, there was a large place where you could drink the water (hence being called the water temple). It's holy water and you are supposed to make a wish as you drink it. On the rest of the walk down the mountain, children kept saying "hello" to us. They were trying to practice their English, so I responded in Japanese trying to practice mine. I also got some delicious Mango ice cream.

We went to an Okonomyoki place for lunch which was delicious and then headed to find the Path of Philosophy which would take us to our next destination. The Path of Philosophy was located along a small stream and lined with various cafes and random shops. Lucas ended up purchasing a Yukata, which is the less formal form of a kimono. We finally made it to Ginkakuji Temple. They had a sand garden with a big "sand castle" like dome. Again we walked through the moutains and bamboo. We saw a group of people looking up towards the sky and realized they were looking at the one single tree that started to change colors for fall. After Ginkakuji we headed to Kinkakuji Temple, however, by the time we got there it was closed, which meant the other temples we were planning on seeing would be closed, too. But it was alright...by this point, we had had no sleep and walked for what seemed like days. We decided to head back to the hostel.

We were finally able to check in and found our room was shared with 6 other people and had bunk beds. It was quite exciting to actually be staying in a hostel. We then went to dinner at a cute Asian place along the river. It was completely empty and delicious. It was so relaxing to be able to sit down for a while. It didn't last long though as we continued to explore Gion. We went to one of the photobooths which led to quite exciting pictures. We found playgrounds, hidden doors and alleys, and fun shops. After a while we decided to split up and have some personal time. I continued my walk through the streets of Gion when I found, or I should say they found me, a group of drunk Japanese guys that started talking to me. I was a little apprehensive at first, but hey...why not make some friends. They ended up being so much fun. We went down to the river, which is a huge hangout spot for kids. My new friends and I, including the two guys who then became my "boyfriends" for the night, sat by the river for a few hours and Lucas came and met up with us. They were all so drunk and hysterical, but really really nice. My one "boyfriend" gave me the Japanese name of Mikachan, meaning beautiful. Finally Lucas and I had to call it a night considering we had been up for 40+ hours straight.

I have many more days to account for, but my stomach is growling so I should make some dinner. I will write more later.